By Emma Mortiboy | Public Fundraising
Hello and welcome to your latest report on the work of the HeroRATs, whose work you generously support.
Landmine Detection
We are delighted to let you know that because of your help, we have achieved an incredible milestone. With over two decades working in mine action, our clearance efforts reached a total of 100 million square meters of land cleared and released! To put this in perspective, this area is roughly the size of the city of Paris! Thanks to your support across the world, this means that land previously identified as contaminated with landmines and other explosive remnants of war, which threatened the lives and livelihoods of the people living nearby, is now declared safe!
We have broken down the clearance by country as follows:
This is an incredible achievement and of course, our HeroRATs diligently continue their missions across the globe to quickly find hidden explosives and save lives, even as you read this update.
Tuberculosis Detection
Recently, a delegation from "Team Europe," including Belgian Minister for Development Cooperation Caroline Gennez and EU Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Stella Kyriakides, visited the Armauer Hansen Research Institute (AHRI) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Their visit included APOPO's tuberculosis (TB) detection lab within AHRI's premises, demonstrating a key partnership in the fight against TB in one of Africa's largest cities.
The visit by the EU delegation, included APOPO's facility for detecting TB using trained rats. AHRI, operating under the federal government, serves as the primary partner and location for the project aimed at improving Ethiopia's national TB control measures.
The visit was part of a larger initiative to enhance health collaborations between Africa and the European Union, aligning with the EU's Global Health Strategy. APOPO's innovative approach, integrating African giant pouched rats for secondary TB screening, plays a vital role in enhancing TB diagnosis and treatment approaches in Ethiopia.
Research and Innovation
On World Pangolin (February 17th) APOPO showcased the progress we have made in training our HeroRATs to fight illegal wildlife trafficking. We are training the rats to sniff out illegally trafficked wildlife products (like pangolin scales at shipping ports.. Pangolins are the world’s most trafficked mammal and with your support we hope to use our HeroRATs initially at seaports but potentially at airports, to deter the illegal wildlife trade.
The partnership between our staff, HeroRATs, and supporters like you is essential for our success. Your dedication makes a tangible difference in our efforts to combat tuberculosis and clear landmines leftover from past conflicts. Thank you for your genuine commitment to these causes; it means a lot to us
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